Chapter 67 [VIP]

Today is the first day of the county examination. After Liang Boqing escorted Chen Qinghuai into the examination hall, he found a teahouse to sit down and have some tea.

It was a rare nice day; the temperature was much higher than the previous few days, and the snow on the rooftops had started to melt, dripping down the eaves.

The teahouse was filled with people, mostly relatives and friends of the candidates, and they were all talking about the county-level examination.

The county examination consists of three sessions, each lasting one day, for three consecutive days. If all the sessions are as auspicious as today, Qinghuai should be fine as long as he performs normally.

Two people came over to share the table while they were having tea, and Liang Boqing readily agreed.

Seeing Liang Boqing's distinguished bearing, the other party took the initiative to strike up a conversation, "Sir, are you also here to accompany someone to participate in the county examination?"

"Yes, I'm accompanying my nephew to take the county examination."

"Coincidentally, we are also accompanying our children to the county exam. We don't know if they will pass this time."

I learned from the two that they came from another town and this was their second time taking the county exam. They didn't do well the first time because they were too nervous, and this time they came with the determination to pass. If they didn't pass, they wouldn't take the exam again next year.

Liang Boqing stroked his beard and said, "The county examination is not difficult, but the prefectural and provincial examinations are difficult. Those are the real battles of thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge."

"Oh, how dare we think about those things? We'll be so happy if our child can pass the imperial examination and become a scholar. We'll be at ease once he's hired as an official in town, gets married, and has children."

This idea is pragmatic, but Chen Qinghuai is destined not to take this path. If his disciple fails to pass the imperial examination, his classmates will laugh him to death.

They waited until noon before the two of them invited Liang Boqing to have a bowl of noodles together.

"No, this is my nephew's first time taking the county exam. If something happens and he can't find anyone, I'll wait here."

The two men bowed and took their leave.

The weather suddenly changed in the afternoon; the originally clear sky suddenly turned gloomy.

As darkness fell, Liang Boqing's expression grew increasingly grim; his worst fears had come true.

The north wind, carrying the remaining snow, swept in like a knife, howling through the doors and windows with a whistling sound. Many people, like him, showed anxious expressions on their faces.

If the weather is like this for both tomorrow and the day after, then I absolutely dare not let Qinghuai take the exam again, otherwise he will definitely catch a cold. It's not worth risking one's life for a mere scholar to take the exam.

*

"Almost there, my lord, just a little more effort."

Wang Ying clutched the mattress, her vision blurring from the pain. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, and she trembled uncontrollably, unsure whether it was from the pain or the cold.

Standing to the side, Li was so anxious that she kept shedding tears. Although she had also given birth to three children, she had never experienced such a difficult time as Wang Ying. She had heard that childbirth was more difficult for boys than for girls, and it was truly heartbreaking to see.

Chen Qingyan, who had been waiting outside for a long time, couldn't wait any longer and started banging on the door. "Mother, how is Aying?!"

"She hasn't given birth yet, wait a little longer!"

As darkness fell, seven or eight candles were lit inside the room, and the two midwives were sweating profusely with tension.

The two had delivered many babies, but this was the first time they had encountered a case as dangerous as Wang Ying's.

He wasn't due to give birth yet. Normally, the cervix dilates first and then the amniotic sac breaks. But because he fell and broke his water prematurely, the cervix dilated much more slowly.

"Madam, have someone cook some sweet egg soup for my husband to drink, otherwise he might not have the strength later."

"Yes, yes, I'll go right away!" Madam Li hurriedly went out to instruct the servants to prepare food.

The three people immediately surrounded her when they saw her come out. "Mother, how is my sister-in-law?"

Li dared not tell them about the difficult childbirth, only saying, "We'll have to wait a while longer."

"How could it take so long? I heard Ah Ying's voice get hoarse from shouting..."

"Don't worry, just wait outside peacefully." After saying this, Li hurriedly returned to the bedroom. At this time, more than two hours had passed since Wang Ying's water broke.

A short while later, steaming hot brown sugar eggs were brought out from the kitchen. They were not only made for Wang Ying, but also for everyone else.

Li told the two midwives to sit down and rest, while she helped Wang Ying sit up and fed her bite by bite.

After finishing the bowl of brown sugar and eggs, Wang Ying felt like she had some strength back. Just as she was about to exert herself, she suddenly felt a gushing sound from her lower body and a lot of water flowed out.

"Oh dear!" Upon seeing this, the two midwives immediately put down their bowls and rushed over.

"Oh no, oh no, why is so much amniotic fluid suddenly leaking out?"

Another old woman touched Wang Ying's belly, her face grim, and said, "There's no other way, hurry up and give birth..."

She didn't dare say the rest. Without amniotic fluid in her womb, the baby would definitely suffocate if left unattended for too long. If she couldn't give birth, she feared that both she and her baby would die!

Wang Ying also sensed the danger, and despite the intense pain, she mustered all her strength and pushed downwards.

A quarter of an hour, a quarter of an hour, a quarter of an hour...

"Almost there, almost there! The baby's head is peeking out!"

"Don't be discouraged, my lord, keep pushing!"

"Ah!!!" Wang Ying gripped the mattress so hard in pain that her fingernails broke, but she didn't care. She only felt as if her lower body was being torn in two.

Chen Qingyan, tears streaming down her face, burst through the door and rushed in, shouting, "Aying, I'm here! I'll stay with you!"

"You can't help either, so what are you doing here?"

"I want to stay with Ah Ying, no matter what, I will stay with him!"

Unable to dissuade him, Li had no choice but to let him go.

Chen Qingyan squatted down by the bed, took Wang Ying's hand, and wiped the sweat from his forehead, saying, "We're about to have our own child, let's keep going!"

Wang Ying cursed under her breath from the pain, "Fuck you, it hurts like hell... Chen Qingyan, if I have another child with you, I'll take your surname!"

"We're not having any more children, we're not having any more."

"Hiss... Ouch..." A sharp pain surged up, and Wang Ying gritted her teeth and pushed down. Suddenly, she felt her stomach rumble, as if something had fallen out, and then it flattened instantly.

"It's born! It's born!"

After a brief moment of excitement, the expected cries of the child did not come; the room was eerily silent.

Wang Ying lay on the bed, panting heavily, "The baby...where is the baby? Let me see..."

Chen Qingyan's eyes were red and swollen. "You should rest first."

Wang Ying had already sensed something was wrong. "No, bring it over here so I can take a look!"

Li turned her head away and wept. The two old women were also filled with shame. It was a boy, but he had been in her womb for too long and had stopped breathing after birth.

"Quickly, bring the child over here!"

Chen Qingyan hugged him and said, "Don't look anymore... You'll never forget it after you see it..."

"Let go of me! I can save him! I can revive him! Quickly, bring the child to me!"

Chen Qingyan couldn't refuse him, and despite her grief, she took the baby from the swaddling clothes next to her.

The baby had delicate features, but had stopped breathing, and its skin was frighteningly bluish-purple due to lack of oxygen.

Wang Ying pressed on the baby's chest and performed CPR and artificial respiration. He couldn't believe that the baby was gone. He was kicking the baby in his belly just yesterday. How could it be a stillborn?

One, two, three times, the small body rose and fell in his palm. He dared not press too hard, for fear of hurting the child's soft body.

"Wake up, baby, wake up and open your eyes to look at your father."

The child is unresponsive, and his body temperature is gradually decreasing.

Wang Ying shook his head in despair. He hadn't even had a chance to see the world properly, how could he be dead...?

A notification suddenly popped up in my head: "Congratulations, host, you have upgraded the experimental field to level five. The phased rewards are now available. Would you like to use them?"

Wang Ying paused for a moment, then immediately chose "yes" in her mind.

"Based on the host's strongest desire, there are three phased rewards: first, return to the original world; second, save the child in front of you; and third, help Chen Qingyan restore the imperial examination system. Please choose one of them."

Can he return to his original world?

Is he going back?

When I returned home, I had no family, no lover, only endless papers to write, an unfinished graduation project, and a vague future.

Wang Ying chose option two almost without hesitation, and even if Chen Qingyan knew, he would have chosen option two as well.

"Once the reward is selected, it cannot be changed. Does the host confirm?"

"confirm!"

"The phase reward has taken effect. Please check it."

"Wah..." A faint cry of a baby rang out, and everyone rushed forward in surprise.

"He's alive? He's alive!"

"The child has been saved!"

Li knelt on the ground with her hands clasped together, "Amitabha, God protect me! Waaaaah..."

Exhausted, Wang Ying collapsed on the bed. The two midwives quickly cleaned the baby, checked its body to make sure there were no problems, and then handed it to Chen Qingyan.

"Congratulations, sir! Congratulations, young master! You are blessed with a son!"

Wang Ying wanted to reach out and hug the child, but she was too tired to even lift her arms. The sounds around her grew increasingly faint, and she fell into darkness amidst Chen Qingyan's excited laughter.

After an unknown amount of time, Wang Ying opened her eyes and found herself in a thick fog, unable to distinguish east from west.

He walked a short distance and suddenly saw what looked like a person squatting by the roadside. Wang Ying quickened her pace and walked forward, asking, "Excuse me, where is this?"

The man turned around, and it turned out to be Zhang Shiqiu, who had been dead for a long time. His face was covered in blood, and he lunged at Wang Ying with a ferocious expression, shouting, "You killed me! You will pay with your life!"

Wang Ying was so frightened that he ran away as fast as he could. After running for a long time, he suddenly heard someone calling his name.

"Ah Ying, Ah Ying!"

Wang Ying turned around and saw that it was his maternal grandparents, the two elderly people supporting each other as they chased after him.

"Grandpa, Grandma, what are you doing here?"

The two elderly people did not speak, but instead held Wang Ying's arm and looked her up and down, their loving expressions evident in their eyes.

Wang Ying's tears fell uncontrollably as she reached out and hugged the elderly couple in front of her, saying, "Grandpa and Grandma, I missed you so much!"

Grandma reached out and touched his face. "My dear grandson, you've suffered these past few years, haven't you?"

Wang Ying shook her head, sobbing. The hardest days were over.

When his parents passed away, he handled their funerals all by himself, leaving him utterly exhausted. Besides the physical exhaustion, he was even more heartbroken, knowing that from now on, he had no one to rely on.

Unexpectedly, she had the chance to see them again, and Wang Ying hugged the two elderly people tightly, reluctant to let go.

Grandpa tapped him with his cane, "This is not a place for you, go back now."

"I can't bear to part with you all."

"My dear, you still have a long way to go. Your grandparents can't be with you forever. Go on your way."

"Grandpa, Grandma!"

Wang Ying struggled to wake up from her sleep. Chen Qingyan's stubble-covered and haggard face came into view. He excitedly grasped Wang Ying's hand, "Ah Ying, you're finally awake! You've been asleep for three days!"

A note from the author: